SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday again touted one of his favorite ideas of taking humans to planet Mars after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the completion of Starship license safety review.
What Happened: With the completion of the safety review, the FAA is now working on an environmental review.
“As part of its environmental review, the FAA is consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on an updated Biological Assessment under the Endangered Species Act. The FAA and the USFWS must complete this consultation before the environmental review portion of the license evaluation is completed,” the federal agency said in a statement.
“Hop in boys we're going to Mars,” Musk wrote on X on Tuesday night. He also responded to a video showing the size of the Starship on X and wrote, “It's meant for making life multiplanetary.”
Why It Matters: On Sept. 5, Musk said that its Starship is ready to launch and merely awaiting the green light from the FAA. Over a month later, it is still awaiting launch approval.
SpaceX conducted the first test launch of Starship on April 20. The rocket exploded in less than four minutes after take-off, damaging the launch pad at Starbase and raining down dust on Port Isabel residents. The FAA commenced an investigation into the crash, which it closed in September, recommending 63 corrective actions. The environmental reviews still have to be completed before Starship can resume launches, the FAA then said.
The initial launch license procured by SpaceX authorized it to conduct just one launch, and the company has to procure a modified license to allow for more launches.
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